Court acquits 25-year-old man in Sonam Shukla murder case in 2022

The body of a woman stuffed in a gunny bag, had washed up at Versova beach on April 28, 2022. The woman was approximately 25 years of age and was found to have been strangled with an internet wire with herhands and legs tied with the same wire. Police subsequently identified the woman to be Sonam Shukla, and arrested Ansari, on suspicion that he was in a relationship with Shukla and had killed her over an argument.

During the trial, Ansari had contested the claim that he was in a relationship with Shukla.

Ansari, through his lawyer Arun Jadhav, had submitted that none of the witnesses or any other evidence showed that he was in a romantic relationship with Shukla. He had said that witnesses, including Shukla’s sister had named another person, but he was not examined.

Ansari had claimed that he had no access to Shukla or any motive to kill her.

The defence lawyer had also raised doubts over the manner in which the seizure of articles was done from the spot where the body was found.

It was claimed that procedure was not followed, nor was other evidence present, including the accused being seen with the victim, and CCTV footage too was not clear to show the accused’s identity.